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OTTAWA, Ontario, June 17, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – Canada’s Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc confirmed that the federal government is working with Canadian provinces on a type of “digital” proof of “vaccination” for citizens to use for international travel.
“The urgency of coming up with a secure, reliable, probably digital proof of vaccination is something that we’re working on collaboratively with provinces,” LeBlanc told reporters on Tuesday. “If there’s a phased adjustment of border measures in July or later in August or so on, there may be a transitional measure. But we’ll have more to say about that in the coming weeks.”
In Canada, provinces have jurisdiction on all health matters, which would include issuing any type of proof of one’s vaccination status.
LeBlanc said the federal government intends to “respect provincial jurisdiction around the health care data of citizens,” noting that “in all likelihood” international travel will “require some reliable national proof of vaccination.”
He also said that while the federal government is working with provincial governments on “vaccination proof” certificates for global travel, when it comes to the local level, the federal government is leaving that to the provinces.
“Whether some provinces choose to have vaccination proof as a requirement for certain public activities or certain gatherings, that is properly a provincial jurisdiction, we don’t have a federal government view with respect to that,” said LeBlanc.
LeBlanc’s comments came only weeks after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is “right now” working on “certificates of vaccination” for travel with its allies, saying they are to be “expected” soon.
On June 21, Trudeau’s cabinet order, which closed the land border between Canada and the United States, is up for renewal. It remains unclear whether the order will be extended or lifted.
Trudeau’s office also recently claimed that a “broad consensus” has been reached among the nation’s premiers to work to create “a proof of vaccine credential” system for travel.
Currently, both Manitoba and Quebec have forms of vaccine proof one can attain in digital form.
Recently, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister officially launched its immunization card program for those who have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. The new immunization card allows the vaccinated more freedom over those who choose not to get the experimental shots.
In May, the Quebec government announced that they will now send “electronic proof” in the form of a QR code to those who have had a COVID-19 jab.
Allison Kindle Pejovic, a lawyer for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), told LifeSiteNews that Manitoba’s new “immunization card” program is a “vaccine passport,” and distinguishing between vaccinated and unvaccinated punishes the latter.
Health Canada has authorized four COVID-19 injections for adults, all with connections to abortion. All of them have been associated with severe side effects such as blood clots, rashes, miscarriages, and even heart attacks in young healthy men.
Recently, Trudeau told reporters that travel restrictions will be eased for those who are fully “vaccinated.”
Health Minister Patty Hajdu recently confirmed that, starting in early July, Canadians who have had the full two doses of a COVID-19 shot do not have to quarantine for 14 days as long as they produce a negative test.